Jay Hooley, the man at the helm of State Street, the world’s second-largest custody bank, is in the middle of reading a book that could be seen as a metaphor for the future of custodians.

"It is thought-provoking - it is about how in this cycle of economic recession there has been a revival of technology, and technology as an application to help not just financial services, but all industries to use automation to generate innovation and productivity," he said.